I can't quite remember where, but in Bates' writing's he mentions that people who are recovering their vision should stay away from people that wear glasses. He uses the word 'contagious' to describe the effects of being around those who strain. To what extent do you agree with this? From my personal experience I don't mind being around those people that where glasses, and in fact often prefer their company to others. But at the same time I've met people who wear glasses who are not a pleasure to be around.
I think this is a matter of being clear about your own priorities, and not taking on the unhealthy habits of others around you, whether it's smoking cigarettes or staying up way too late or staring visual habits. People sometimes know you're right and they're wrong, and subtly try to pull you down to suffer with them, like the fat person who tries to get you to eat a gooey dessert with her. "Maybe you need to put your glasses on since it's getting dark" they'll say (as they peer and squint through their own strong spectacles). Stick to your guns. If you can't, yes, spend time only with people who have the visual habits you want to have yourself.
This doesn't make sense for me, when I had perfect sight some years ago, (I'm regaining it, thank you god! I am NOT Christian btw, it's the faith.), I NEVER thought about the way people uses their eyes. And almost no one out there with normal vision notice that. You're noticing it, becouse you're working on improving your eyesight, maybe after some long time observing a person with imperfect sight you can fall in the patterns of strain temporary, but that can't go further. Unless you're a baby, but it's not the case.
Keep working on good vision habits and good luck!
footballman Wrote:I can't quite remember where, but in Bates' writing's he mentions that people who are recovering their vision should stay away from people that wear glasses. He uses the word 'contagious' to describe the effects of being around those who strain. To what extent do you agree with this? From my personal experience I don't mind being around those people that where glasses, and in fact often prefer their company to others. But at the same time I've met people who wear glasses who are not a pleasure to be around.
Human beings (and I suspect all animate creatures) are inherently imitative. We can't help it, and I think it is genetic. You yawn, I yawn. I look up, you look up. You stretch, I stretch. I sway or dance a bit, you sway or dance a bit. You speak with an accent, pretty soon I speak with an accent. I sing a silly tune, you sing a silly tune. You wear glasses, pretty soon I wear glasses. I avoid looking you in the eyes, pretty soon you avoid looking people in the eyes.
It's either that, or we have to fight. Or go to war.
It's like on-the-job training. It's monkey-see, monkey-do. Then we internalize the copycat and start copying ourselves, creating a habit.
At a genetic level, look at how the genes replicate themselves.
At the macro level look at how schools of fish and other groups of animals behave like a single organism.
But I think being consciously aware of the tendency helps bring it under conscious control. Psychology was still in its infancy when Dr. Bates was alive.
Good point JMartinC4,
The most unpleasant people I have been around are those that do not imitate at all...that seem to lack empathy(which might be genetic, or might not)and they do tend to want to fight or go to war!
Hi everyone!
I don't agree all the time with what JMartinC4 write, but on that point I completely agree with him.
Bates wrote many times about how high are the chances that someone who is not myope will be myope if he lives at home with all his family member wearing glasses. We are immitate the others all the time, with or without our volition.
Bates have written many times about how it is important that the parents of a child who have imperfect sight should be cured of imperfect sight too to be able to help his child and to make sure that he will be able to learn better visual habits more easily. He had written a specific story about a child who couldn't keep his sight perfect because he always fall back into the strain pattern when he was with his father.
I know that it is almost impossible in our society to be all the time only with persons with normal sight but in an ideal world, it is what should be done. (Even if you'll say that in an ideal world imperfect sight wouldn't exist...)
I know that many persons here are still at the age to go at school or college, so if you have to pass 12 hours a day with a partner to do projects or labs, if you can, do a better choice for you!
My step dad and Mom's eye doctor got very angry, jealous at her for reversing her blurry close vision and cataracts by using the Bates Method and stopping use of eyeglasses, sunglasses. Her distant vision was clear. Step dad and doc forced her to stop Bates method, gave her stronger glasses and added bifocal. She cant do what she wants or will be abused, possible violence by the family member. Doctor just want to regrow the cataracts so he can sell surgery and more glasses!
She is trapped by negative people. My step father wears glasses. Alot of strain in his eyes, neck... So Sad.
Hanging around myopes is awful when you're trying to reverse your own vision problems. Their strain carries through in their voice, physical movements and facial expressions.
In much the same way as if you visited a tranquil outdoor environment and a high pressure corporate environment you will be effected to some extent by the setting. The same is true of the company you surround yourself with.
At the same time though, I don't think it's possible to avoid myopes in real life, considering how ubiquitous myopia is right now. I think that a good approach would be to pay attention to how others see and point them out to yourself. I consider it a step forward when I can recognize people squinting, staring, or locking their heads and by telling myself that it's wrong, I think it helps my own behavior a bit.
I have to say that I actually find joy in recognizing 1) the myopic habits of others and 2) that I am no longer a blind slave to those same habits myself. I really like that I recognize what other myopes 'do wrong' because recognizing bad habits is half the challenge and it serves as a great, physical, obvious reminder to me of what not to do with my own eyes.
Whenever I see someone wearing glasses I wish that they - and everyone - had the courage to read the writings of Dr. Bates and heal themselves. And while I'm noticing the way they behave (so tense, so concentrated!) I am feeling grateful to have read and seen for myself that the Bates Method works. How liberating! And I feel sorry for them that they are missing out on all of the natural experiences of good vision: true depth perception, brilliant colours, universal movement and real awareness. These have been tremendous gifts to my life.
The main thing that shakes me about being around other myopes is seeing my 'former self' in them. Sometimes seeing the truth of how you behave (or have behaved) in the world can be shocking. Whenever someone twists up their face in an intense squint or blinks violently I think: omg! Is that what I used to look like? And it just reinforces for me that I prefer looking relaxed, feeling relaxed and being more aware of myself and my environment instead of clenching at everything with my eyes.
clarknight Wrote:My step dad and Mom's eye doctor got very angry, jealous at her for reversing her blurry close vision and cataracts by using the Bates Method and stopping use of eyeglasses, sunglasses. Her distant vision was clear. Step dad and doc forced her to stop Bates method, gave her stronger glasses and added bifocal. She cant do what she wants or will be abused, possible violence by the family member. Doctor just want to regrow the cataracts so he can sell surgery and more glasses! She is trapped by negative people. My step father wears glasses. Alot of strain in his eyes, neck... So Sad.
In accordance with my theory, I think what is probably happening here, and happens every time we walk into the optometrist office, is that the tone of voice combined with the tone of the office/lab/procedure triggers the post-hypnotic suggestion that distance blurry eyesight is inevitable, necessary, acceptable and preferable, and prevents us from exhibiting even the modicum of control over our visual systems which we insufficiently learned from the Bates Methods. We instantly forget to stop staring, we forget to shift, we freeze up, we hold our breath, we tense and squeeze our eyebrows/lids/cheeks, as if we are fighting an overwhelming force against which we hypnotically remember/know we cannot win.
I absolutely will not go back and submit to that situation until I have complete control - and I am very close to achieving it. 'Jealous' is a very apt term. They covet our control. They covet our self-determination.
I just thought of it - I am going to find out the name(s) of the doctors/medical persons who attended my birth and instilled the eye antibiotics. That knowledge will assist me in my self-de-hypnosis! Maybe some of it is already on my birth certificate.
Thomas Hobbes said it best in Leviathan: Control over another human being is the ultimate quest of a greedy misguided being. Or something like that. My version: I know I'm better than people who think they're better than other people.
Good Post!
We have to be strong, stand up for ourselves. When I had that neck injury that goofed up my vision in many ways: the eye doctor refused to state that the neck, its nerves, muscles and sinus can affect the sight. I gave in and allowed him to order glasses just so he would look into my eyes and see if I had a stroke or detached retina... from the injury.
He tried to sell; cornea Lasik, bifocal without close vision addition, just bifocal with plain on bottom, and threw in astigmatism corrections.
Was about 3 weeks for the glasses to be made. During this time I was feeling less stress since the eye exam showed no medical problem. Relaxation of mind helped the vision improve. Then went back into Bates Method overtime! David's article on details helped greatly and used this on my Astigmatism Chart with Swings. (Learnt from Janet, Carina Goodrich)
Sinus also cleared up as the neck relaxed more. Vision now clear.
The doctor called and said glasses are ready. I went there to see what they would be like, since I had not worn for 30 years. Tried them on and very blurry, streaks of light, blur over objects... Caused instant headache and eye pain. Lady optician there said I had to get used to them. Doctor never came out to check how the glasses were. I knew the truth was: The Bates Method, neck relaxation, sinus clearing up returned my vision to clear and the glasses were too strong and had unnecessary astigmatism sections.
If I did not know about the Bates method I would have worn the glasses, re-developed the astigmatism and blur and become addicted to stronger and stronger lenses.
I left the office and placed the glasses in the case, on the floor and stepped on them, crushed them.
Doc still sends e-mails for lasik!
Great post, Clarknight! And it doesn't even stop there - I think I posted this somewhere else, but it's illuminating - for instance, my son was diagnosed with a slight case of Juv.Rheum.Arth. in grade school, so every month for a couple of years we took him to the hospital where an excellent older pediatric rheumatologist would give the standard checkup and treatment. One day these two younger docs came in with a great new idea - surgery to cut out 75% of his meniscus (fluid-producing knee cushion)! I hesitated, looked at our physician who warned they were coming and seemed sceptical, but couldn't say anything bad about the idea - he left it to us. As I pondered it, the new surgeon-docs decided they would speed up our decision by letting me know that without the surgery he would probably never be able to play football! (He'd been playing soccer when the knee swelling was noticed). So of course that did help and I said no way, thanks, we'd stick with the conventional treatment. After a couple of years he grew out of the JRA stuff and had no more symptoms. He went on to row crew in high school and now regularly runs in 5K races with competitive times. There are many medical people out there who see human beings as not much more than guinea pigs. That they are allowed to become doctors is evidence of the sad low and desperate state of medical science.
Hey jMartin,
So glad you had the smarts to keep your son away from those Surgeons! Sounds like a great kid! The public does not realize how corrupt the Medical Profession is. Seems they let anyone in that can pay the tuition for college and then they protect them when they hurt people. Alot of chiropractors are now changing their treatment to this new modern way where they align/pop the neck, back on only one side. I swear they do this to keep the patient coming back for more appointments. This is how I was injured. Old way was both sides, even, balanced and usually need onl,y 1-2 treatments.
The Colleges are teaching the new way.
clarknight Wrote:Hey jMartin,
So glad you had the smarts to keep your son away from those Surgeons! Sounds like a great kid! The public does not realize how corrupt the Medical Profession is. Seems they let anyone in that can pay the tuition for college and then they protect them when they hurt people. Alot of chiropractors are now changing their treatment to this new modern way where they align/pop the neck, back on only one side. I swear they do this to keep the patient coming back for more appointments. This is how I was injured. Old way was both sides, even, balanced and usually need onl,y 1-2 treatments.
The Colleges are teaching the new way.
Thanks clarknight. My wife and I have been married for 33 years. We have two sons - a phd in biology who is getting married this year and a veterinarian who is married and having their first child this year.
I am glad you overcame the neck and chiro problems. My mother in law had some similar experiences. I never thought chiropracty was a good idea - but I love massage therapy! Go figure.
